Will Bosh Squash The Plan?

If Chris Bosh is - or ever was - considered the Heat's top free agent target in the blockbuster summer of 2010, then there's now some cause for more pause. Or there probably should be.

In just the span of this offseason, Bosh (right) already has gone from being viewed essentially as headed out of Toronto, to practically soon on his way to the Heat via trade, to perhaps a strong possibility to end up in Miami by next summer at the latest, to virtually a wrap to stick with the Raptors.

Just consider these comments from Bosh this week, before he left for an NBA humanitarian trip to Africa: "(I) like that we're not sitting around, waiting around, putting all our eggs in the basket and saying we're going to wait for 2010 because we want to have (salary) cap space to get players you might not be able to sign," Bosh told the Globe and Mail of Toronto. "The do-it-now approach is very motivating for everyone."

Needless to say, this is from a high-profile player who shares a friendship and an agent with Dwyane Wade. Needless to say that this is from a 2010 mega-free agent who could re-sign with his own team for as much as $30 million more than any other team could offer. Needless to say that Wade sounded out a similar song earlier this summer in a not-so-patient plea for roster help.

There is no doubt that Heat president Pat Riley is going to have a load of money to toss around in free agency next summer, which was always the man's main plan. Objective 1 in 2010 is to re-sign Wade to that six-year, $120 million max deal. Objective 2 was expected to center on what once seemed almost a certainty: Toss another max deal - perhaps five years, $90 million - Bosh's way and call it a day.

Again, perhaps.

By the end of this season, this plan would be two years in the making. Two years of vision. Two years of waiting. Two years of preparing for the big-time NBA coup. And it could backfire. At least at the top level. Yes, LeBron is going to be out there. But getting him to Miami might be the next stop north of a pipe dream. Sure Amare sounds like he will be very available. But with his injury history and demands to be The Man wherever he goes, there are also risks involved. Point is, if you can't get a top-3 guy off the 2010 board - including your own - you would have wasted two years to bring in Joe Johnson or Carlos Boozer. All respect due.

But a Wade-Bosh tandem always seemed to be priority No. 1 for the Heat, with Riley's affection for the versatile 6-11 All-Star forward dating to that 2003 Draft when, truth be told, Bosh (who went 4th to Toronto) was the target and Wade (who went 5th to Miami) ended up being the consolation catch.

Yes, it turned out to be the right pick for the Heat. In a very big way. But still. Feelings are feelings. And judging by Bosh's most recent emotions, he's loving life in Toronto right now - and, perhaps, for the long haul. Remember, this was the same guy who at the start of the summer made it clear that he was not happy with what was going on north of the border after a miserable season. Making matters worse was the fact that his domestic issues with the mother of his child played out in the press, which resulted in a messy child support dispute that played out over two states and two countries.

Bosh was the first of the big-time 2010 classmates to publicly make it clear that he would not sign an extension this summer and would wait to look into his free agency options.

Now, after watching his team go out and pick up a few key players, including Hedo Turkoglu, there's a different message coming from Canada. Bosh (defending Wade above) said he spent majority of his summer there for the first time. He might even at least consider that extension now.

Bosh sounds more and more like he's warming up to he idea of staying put. If so, that might only place more heat on Miami to deliver the goods under Riley's 2010 Grand Plan.

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